Ariana DeBose to Star in Sweet Charity Workshop
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- Ariana DeBose will star in an autumn workshop of the Neil Simon/Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields musical Sweet Charity, producers announced today, with additional details to come later.
- Jeff and Rick Kuperman, Tony Award nominees who choreographed Broadway's The Outsiders, will provide all-new direction and choreography for the workshop.
- The producing team includes ATG Theatricals, Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Bee Carrozzini, Kevin Ryan, and Lamar Richardson.
- The pairing had been predicted by theater fans since DeBose hosted the 75th Tony Awards in 2022 and performed the show's 'Rich Man's Frug' with audience member Sam Rockwell.
- The original 1966 Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse and starring Gwen Verdon, ran for 608 performances and received nine Tony nominations, making it a landmark of mid-century Broadway.
- The Kupermans said DeBose has 'the wit, fearlessness, vulnerability, and extraordinary physical command to make Charity entirely her own,' and that they are creating a 'contemporary theatrical language in which dance drives the story.'
Why it matters: DeBose, an Oscar winner whose career has been built on dance-honed roles, steps into a part defined by Fosse's choreography — the original staging paired Fosse with Verdon, and the Kupermans' *Outsiders* choreography pedigree signals dance will drive this re-read of Charity. The workshop is the first concrete step toward a full production, with venue, cast beyond DeBose, and timeline still unannounced.
